CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS +15 SOUNDSCAPE 2019-2020 Season

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSAL: Monday, January 14 2019.

Email submission to: Natasha Jensen, Visual and Media Arts Specialist [email protected] Attention: +15 Soundscape Submission

+15 Walkway: The +15 walkway is a high traffic pedestrian walkway (essentially an indoor sidewalk) and +15 is connected to City Hall on the east and on the west via the +15 walkway system - a series of 57 enclosed bridges at approximately 15 feet above street level that connect a majority of the buildings in the downtown core. Please note that the +15 system closes at midnight each night.

Description of +15 Soundscape: The +15 Soundscape is a multi-channel speaker system located on the +15 level of Arts Commons (205 8th Ave SE) that provides highly unique sound art opportunities to local and national sound artists. The +15 Soundscape is one of the few systems like it in the world, where experimental sound art, sonic art, compositions, electronic-art, radio plays, etc are presented. The +15 Soundscape provides a unique opportunity to engage with a diverse audience, including the local artistic community of Calgary, Alberta. Arts Commons receives over 600,000 patrons a year and the +15 walkway is used by thousands of pedestrians daily. The broad audience include: cultural workers, commuters, teachers, children, vulnerable populations, city officials, artists, and others.

Selected Soundscape piece: The selected piece must be a minimum of 60 minutes in length and will loop continuously for three to four months. The proposal must include a 10-15 minute sample of your proposed soundscape. This project reaches a diverse population of all ages; content must be suitable for public spaces (ie no cursing, explicit sexual content or hateful language). Please also keep in mind that audiences may experience one minute of the piece, or the piece in its entirety on an ongoing basis. (Please note that artists must be Canadian citizens currently residing in to be eligible for this program).

Technical Information for the Artist: The system is made up of an Apple Mac Pro computer using Figure 53’s QLab v3 playback software which plays through a MOTU 24Ao USB audio interface to drive fifteen (15) discreet channels of amplification, powering twelve (12) ceiling speaker channels and three (3) sub channels. The ceiling speakers are positioned alternately to the left and right of the centre of the +15 corridor. Along one side of the corridor there are three (3) in-wall subwoofers for low frequency or effect use. **The final audio files used for the installation should be wave files, mono, or stereo, which can

be assigned to the discreet ceiling speaker and the sub channels as required by the artist. See floor map attached for speaker placement.

Who is this opportunity for: Professional and emerging artists who self-identify from a diverse community. Arts Commons recognizes that the term ‘diverse’ is very broad, however it is used intentionally to capture the complex network and intersectional nature of the groups we aim to better serve. Those served by this initiative may self-identify with one or more of the following communities: an ethnocultural community (e.g. Asian Canadians, Indigenous nation), an ability- based community (e.g. deaf/hard-of-hearing, developmental disability), a sexual-minority/gender- variant community (e.g. queer, non-gender conforming, trans), an age-defined community (e.g. seniors/families with young children), an artistic community (e.g. interdisciplinary performance, new media practice), and there are – of course – many others. Arts Commons defines a professional artist as an individual who has specialized training in their artistic field, are recognized by their peers as a professional, have a history of public presentation, and are committed to devoting more time to artistic activity if financially possible. Please note that Arts Commons recognizes and values approaches to creativity and expression that originate from nonwestern cultural traditions, meaning that ‘specialized training’ or ‘public presentation / engagement’ of an artist does not need to originate from institutions or contexts commonly recognized within the established artistic community.

Who is Arts Commons: Arts Commons is a multi-venue arts centre in , Alberta, Canada, located in the Cultural District. Occupying a full city block, Arts Commons is a six level complex measuring over 400,000 square feet. It is one of the three largest arts centres in Canada. Arts Commons is the third largest performing arts centre in Canada (after the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and Place Des Artes in Montreal), and is home to an ever evolving range of music, theatre, dance, visual and media arts, and events of all kinds. As a civic partner to the City of Calgary, Arts Commons is responsible for the care of our facility, which is over 13 acres of public space. We are home to five resident companies (Arts Commons Presents, Alberta Theatre Projects, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Downstage, One Yellow Rabbit, and Theatre Calgary), with Arts Commons Presents operating as a distinct sixth resident company. Arts Commons Presents is a programming team of six individuals working with a diverse team of arts professionals who together engage over 60,000 people a year at concerts, performances, visual and media arts events, community events, and speaker series; and through our Arts Learning programs we reach over 10,000 students. Of course, none of this would be possible without the 700+ artists we work with annually who create the moments of connection between audience members and the art they’ve come to experience.

+15 Soundscape Application Form Submission Process:

Eligibility of work:  Must have been completed within the past five years.  Must be appropriate for a diverse population of all ages; content must be suitable for public spaces.  The creator’s primary residence is in Canada – must be a Canadian citizen.  Minimum 60 minutes in length.

Submission Must Include:  Artist CV (maximum two pages per artist(s).  Artist Statement/description of the artwork (maximum 500 words).  Artist(s) biography (maximum 400 words).  A link or MP3 file of proposed work either in its entirety or a 10-15 minute sample of the Soundscape. Include a stereo reduction for multichannel work for reference purposes only. *Please note: Successful applicants will be required to provide files that are compatible with SFX multichannel software. Please see above section “technical information for artists”.  Signed application form.

Loss or Damage: While every precaution will be taken to prevent loss or damage, the Selection Committee, Arts Commons and their agents shall not be liable for any loss or damage of submission items, however caused. Faxed submissions will not be reviewed.

Original Work: The artist guarantees that the artwork is original and does not violate the copyright of any other person.

Please include the following information with your submission: Artist’s Name (please print):______Artist’s Signature______Date:______Email:______Tel:______Mailing Address: ______Postal Code: ______Title of work:______Year of completion:______Duration of completed Sound Piece:______Format:______

ARTS